24 Facts About Jim Hunt

Jim Hunt is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.

Jim Hunt is the father of current North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt.

Jim Hunt was raised in the Free Will Baptist Church but later converted to Presbyterianism.

Jim Hunt was the second student to serve two terms as Student Body President of NC State.

Jim Hunt went on to serve as the president of the Young Democratic Clubs of North Carolina, now known as the Young Democrats of North Carolina.

From 1964 to 1966, Jim Hunt was a Ford Foundation economic advisor in Nepal.

Jim Hunt was first sworn in as Governor of North Carolina on January 8,1977.

Jim Hunt is the only Governor of North Carolina to have been elected to four terms.

Jim Hunt was first elected governor in 1976 over Republican David Flaherty and was re-elected in 1980, defeating I Beverly Lake.

Jim Hunt supported a constitutional change during his first term that allowed him to be the first North Carolina governor to run for a second consecutive term.

In 1981 Jim Hunt chaired the Jim Hunt Commission, named after himself, which established superdelegates in the Democratic National Convention.

Jim Hunt returned in 1992 and defeated Republican lieutenant governor and Hardee's executive Jim Gardner to win the governorship.

Jim Hunt was re-elected by a large margin over future US Congressman Robin Hayes in 1996.

Jim Hunt left office in January 2001, and was replaced by fellow Democrat, Attorney General Mike Easley.

Jim Hunt was an early proponent of teaching standards and early childhood education, gaining national recognition for the Smart Start program for pre-kindergarteners.

Jim Hunt served on the Carnegie Task Force, which created the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and more recently on the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education.

Jim Hunt was very successful at recruiting business to his state.

Jim Hunt was key actor in the trial of the Wilmington Ten.

Jim Hunt was criticized for allowing Darryl Jim Hunt to remain in prison for 20 years after the wrongfully convicted Winston-Salem man was exonerated by exculpatory DNA evidence which pointed to another perpetrator.

Darryl Jim Hunt was pardoned by the succeeding governor, Mike Easley.

Jim Hunt was a proponent of North Carolina's tobacco industry, even after the negative health effects of tobacco use became clear.

When Reagan Administration Surgeon General Dr C Everett Koop accused the tobacco industry of directing advertising at children and threatening human lives, Hunt called for his impeachment.

Jim Hunt has been married to Carolyn Leonard Jim Hunt since 1958 and they have a son and three daughters.

An authorized biography of Jim Hunt, authored by former press secretary Gary Pearce, was released in the fall of 2010.